Zero Requiem
by Candelabra
Summary: A collection of scenes for Lelouch, CC, and Suzaku, the much-loved Unholy Trinity. Written for 50scenes on lj. 19 - Without: "Just one night."
1. Hero

**A/N:** (changed as of April 15, 2011!)

This story hasn't been updated for a really long time, but I am actually still working on it (sob I always say that and then I abandon them but this time _I swear it's true_). This is a collection of oneshots centred around Lelouch, Suzaku and CC, some platonic in nature and some more romancey-threesomey. Many of the oneshots are supposed to fit into the same universe, although they will not be posted chronologically - in fact, all the ones uploaded so far are. When I do start posting the oneshots that aren't part of the main plotline, I'll make a note of them.

As chance would have it, this first prompt is a more platonic, introspective one. Set after Zero Requiem, so **huge spoilers** for the end of R2.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

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**1. Hero**

The rain drummed a rhythm into the ground, splattering into mud and puddles. Not wanting to stay out in the cold and wet any longer than necessary, the passerby hurried on past the monument. They kept to the pavement for the most part, wanting to preserve their shoes and feet from the mud of the park.

A hooded figure stood apart from the others, standing before the monument. She gazed up at it with golden eyes, taking in the majestic and heroic pose that the statue took. A masked man, brandishing a sword toward the sky. A symbol of justice, doling out judgement to the wicked. Invincible, indestructible, immortal.

Almost without realizing what she was doing, she reached out one hand toward the statue, ran her fingers along the words inscribed upon the stand. _Zero, Champion of Justice. _A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips and she thought, absently, of summer and sunflower fields, of two children climbing up a hill.

A moment passed as she pressed her hand against the words, then with a sigh drew it back again, let it fall back into the folds of her cloak.

_What is justice?_ she thought to herself, making her way back to the pavement and the steady stream of humanity that waited there. _What is heroism?_ And she laughed to think such things, wondering when she started caring about the meaning of ideological words and concepts. Such things should only concern humans, shouldn't they? Yet, perhaps she was now human too... she held out a hand, gazed at the barely noticeable wrinkles beginning to form, and wondered.

She had thought that to humans a hero was someone good and right and strong, a champion of justice, perfect in every way. She did not think that those two boys she remembered were such heros. They were, she decided, human, and therefore prone to the failings and weaknesses of humanity. They loved too dearly, felt too clearly, cut a swathe of blood and death and destruction in their attempts to recreate the world. Guilt, remorse, shame, determination to see it through to the end no matter the cost. And they thought they had created lasting peace with their efforts.

She shook her head, laughing under her breath, ignoring the looks that passerby directed at her. _Such stupid children, really,_ she thought. _To think they could help anyone that way... _Because for all their cleverness and strength and sacrifice, they had still killed millions, created massacres, ruined lives for their ideals.

No one would ever know it, though. The people believed in Zero, in promises of hope and change for the better, and only she had lived long enough to know that nothing ever lasts, that peace is indefinite and impermanent so long as humans exist. Only she knew that Zero is a lie, that beneath the cool obsidian of his mask lies no hero, no god, no champion of justice, but a man. A man looking for redemption and atonement.

Ten years after the completion of Zero Requiem, CC walked down the streets of the rebuilt city of Pendragon in the middle of a torrential rainstorm and left the country, never to return.

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**A/N: **They won't all be this short. Reviews would be appreciated... =)


	2. Grave

**A/N:** After this, I will probably only update once every week (on Fridays =D), but I thought I'd just post the second scene today to get things going a bit.

This one is set before the previous, somewhere in the middle of Turn 25 (after the fight on Damocles but before Zero Requiem). And these first few all seem to be somewhat short, I'll get the other ones to be longer if I can.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

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**2. Grave**

"I thought I'd find you here."

Suzaku looked up at Lelouch's voice, startled. The Emperor approached with CC at his side and waved a hand at Suzaku as he stepped back, unsure if he should be in this place.

"It's alright, no one else is allowed to come here just yet." He stopped before him, stared down at the grave that Suzaku had been looking at with such interest only a few moments before. _Here lies a consummate and invaluable Knight to His Highness Lelouch vi Britannia, 99th Emperor of the Holy Kingdom of Britannia._

"You will, of course, have to remain inside my quarters after this, though. We put it about that you died in the explosion, which served useful as to explaining why we could not display your body. Kallen's actions were surprisingly helpful in the long run. Only Jeremiah is aware of your survival... and Lloyd and Cecile and Sayoko-san of course."

Suzaku said nothing, and Lelouch cleared his throat. "Well? What do you think of it?"

"It's..." Suzaku tilted his head on one side, struggled for words. "... it's nice," he finished awkwardly. And how strange it was, to be staring at his own grave while well aware that he would never lay in it. "A bit pompous, actually."

CC snorted, looked to the side, pressed her chin into the top of her stuffed yellow toy while staring thoughtfully at the tombstone. Lelouch raised his eyebrows a little. "Pompous, you say?" he said, sounding somewhat amused. "Well, I suppose so, but it's only fitting for the Demon Emperor to act as such."

"Demon Emperor...?"

"Yes. They're already calling me by that title, you know... well, that's as it should be of course," said Lelouch. He looked entirely too content in saying that, and Suzaku found himself gritting his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed CC's eyebrows draw together in a small frown.

"You always did have a flare for drama," said Suzaku, turning his gaze back to the grave.

"I suppose."

If Suzaku turned to look at the other, he was sure that Lelouch would have a self-deprecating sort of smile on his face, but he didn't feel like seeing it. A moment passed in silence during which all three looked down at the grave. The wind picked up, sending a shiver through Suzaku's spine. _Someone walking over my grave..._

"Let's go," he said abruptly, suddenly conscious of the feel of the wind on his skin, the way the light and shadows fell on the ground. Very soon he would have to hide himself away from all this forever, close himself up in an overly dramatic costume and mask. He would never see the world as Kururugi Suzaku again.

"Sure," said Lelouch, and turned to lead the way back into the palace. Suzaku made to follow, and then paused. CC hadn't moved; she was still staring at the grave. She looked up after a second or two, conscious of his gaze.

Gold met green, and for a long moment they stared at one another. Suzaku had never quite understood her or her relationship to Lelouch, this strange green-haired woman who had started everything, and yet for the briefest of instances he saw everything of himself reflected in his eyes. The same bone-weary realization that _this is really happening, he's really going to go through with all this, everything is — _

She broke the gaze, looked away, made her way through the graveyard to catch up with Lelouch. Suzaku swallowed, mindful of the intensity he had seen in those odd gold eyes, and followed after them more slowly.

He did not return to visit his own grave until after the completion of Zero Requiem.

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**A/N:** Reviews/comments/critique would be much appreciated. =)


	3. Repent

**A/N:** Yeah, so, I intended to only update on Fridays from now on, but I figured that as long as the Christmas holidays are here I may as well take advantage of all the free time.

This one is set during Turn 21... and hopefully it will be obvious enough from there at what point it is and what's going on.

Thanks to **SkippySigmatic,** **Fallen One-Winged Tenshi, **and **Wizard** for reviewing. =)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

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"You killed Euphie."

"Yeah, and so?" A challenge, almost. He won't say sorry, because sorry is just a word and though he has lived by the use of words and twisting their meanings he is tired now. He doesn't want to use these weapons against Suzaku, not here, not now, not after everything that has happened between them.

The other boy swallows, and a look of such rage crosses his face. He raises the sword again, threateningly, and Lelouch sees out of the corner of his eye the way CC stiffens momentarily, almost as though she wants to stand and stop him. But she doesn't. He's on his own with this, and for that he's grateful to her.

"So?" repeats Suzaku, almost in disbelief. "_So?_ So you killed her — your own sister! Made her take the blame for a massacre, lied to everyone — "

"Yes, I killed Euphemia." Not two minutes ago he was crying as he watched his parents disintegrate, but he betrays no emotion as he says this, no flicker of regret or sadness. There is only iron-clad control now. "And you killed Nunally." _Control, control._

For a moment Suzaku wavers, lowers the sword a degree. "Because of you — your stupid Geass, forcing me to live no matter what!" It has indeed been a long day and night for the both of them, and his voice cracks as he yells. The sound is swallowed by the heavy, pressing air of this weird other world, made strangely quiet despite his rage.

Lelouch nods his head once in acknowledgement. "We killed her together." He is not so in control as he might wish, and his voice breaks on the last syllable. He knows his eyes are glittering again.

"So you admit it," says Suzaku, his voice a low almost-growl.

"Aa. And I will accept a fitting punishment for it."

CC's head comes up at this, and he can feel the focussed frown of her eyes on him. Suzaku is looking at him with confusion, and Lelouch reaches out his hand toward him, almost without thinking. He looks as though he wants to step back or jerk the sword away as Lelouch takes the blade in one hand, but he stands still.

Suzaku lets him pull the sword down so that he can stare at his own reflection — hair tangled and greasy, tear streaks through the dirt on his face, and his eyes shimmering with the eerie red glow of Geass — and makes a small sound of surprise as Lelouch draws the side of his hand along the edge of the blade with barely a grimace of pain. Blood gathers and drips onto the smooth polished surface of the sword.

"What — " begins Suzaku, and stops as Lelouch holds out his hand to him again.

"Suzaku. You may have my life if you so wish it." He does not dare look at CC as he says this. His gaze is focussed only on Suzaku, on the way his eyes widen in shock and disbelief. "But first, you must do something for me."

Suzaku swallows. "What?" he asks warily, and Lelouch knows that it is gone, now, whatever friendship and trust they once had. Suzaku betrayed him, he betrayed Suzaku — will the other consent to work with him now, even with this blood-oath promise? Can he even trust him now, after so many betrayals? And yet it is his only chance, the only way he can hope to make things right again.

He smiles, and it feels sharp and metallic to him, an absurd way to twist his face. "If you will help me to do one thing... if you can bring yourself to put your trust in me... I will allow you to kill me."

And Suzaku hesitates, and Lelouch is well aware that he is uncertain, still. He'll want answers, and Lelouch will give them to him soon enough — and CC, too, ever watchful and waiting in the background (and he doesn't need to look at her to know the way she moves her head again and clutches her knees closer to her chest, like a child, almost).

But a moment passes, and Suzaku slides his hand along the edge of the blade as well, sheathes the sword, grasps Lelouch's palm in a bloody handshake; it is enough.

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**A/N:** Reviews would be much appreciated... and I promise these won't all be so angsty.


	4. Change

**A/N: ** I'm uploading this a bit early because I don't know if I'll have time to get on tomorrow. This one's a bit more light-hearted. It's based almost directly after that tea in episode five (or six? I can't quite remember) in Season One.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

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"Who is that boy?"

Lelouch paused as CC spoke, hand settling over the purple of his costume as he stuffed it into a suitcase.

"Suzaku, you mean?"

"Yeah, him." She sounded deceptively uninterested, and when a moment passed without him answering she went back to eating pizza.

"Suzaku is my friend," said Lelouch at last as he shut the suitcase and closed the clasps, shoving it under his bed.

"I know that," she said, sounding vaguely annoyed. "You mentioned it before."

"Not just any friend," said Lelouch, moving a pizza box so that he could sit on his bed. "My best and oldest friend."

She raised her eyebrows at him as she took another bite of pizza. "Do tell," she said, and he shot her a dirty look before leaning back against the wall and drawing his legs up onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"I met him when Nunally and I were sent to the Kururugi Shrine," he continued. "He... actually, when we first met he punched me in the face for saying something unfavourable about Japan." There was fondly reminiscing tone to his voice, and a sort of softness to his face as he said this, an expression and tone that CC had before only ever seen him use around Nunally. With a slight _hm_, she pulled her legs up and sat half-kneeling on the bed, facing him fully to show her interest.

"Anyway, stuff happened... eventually we became friends, I'm still not quite sure how. It probably involved Nunally. ... he taught us things, helped us with our Japanese, tried to teach me how to fight — "

"An endeavour doomed to failure from the beginning," she interjected drily and he gave her another less than favourable look as he continued.

" — and I tried to teach him how to play chess... funny. We were really so very different from each other, but we ended up getting along so well. Those days during the summer at Kururugi Shrine were really..." he trailed off, staring across his room with something approaching nostalgia in his expression.

"And now?" prompted CC, at last, selecting another slice from the half-eaten pizza.

"And now," said Lelouch, coming out of his reverie, "It's... different." He frowned. "I never would have figured that Suzaku would join the Britannian army... he was always so stubbornly against Britannia. He hated them. He hated bowing to anyone. He never used to care so much about obeying the rules. I wonder... what happened to him, that he's so different now?"

"People change," CC pointed out lazily, appearing to devote her attention to the slice of pizza that she was currently consuming when Lelouch flashed her another look. "Do you think that when you were a child you could have imagined yourself being who you are now?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "I've always wanted to crush Britannia."

"I actually could believe that one," she muttered around a mouthful of crust. "But... even when you were a prince?"

That one gave him pause. "... well," he said, "But what reason could Suzaku have to have changed so drastically?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Why, is he very important to you?"

He pulled a knee up so that his chin was resting on it, frowning a little. "I... suppose so."

As the silence lengthened and Lelouch frowned at the floor in thought, she reached into the box to grab yet another slice of pizza. She paused to glance at him for a moment. _Well, well, well. Does it really trouble him so very much?_

"I don't know," she said at last, turning away from the boy to select a particularly large slice of pizza, "It all sounds very homosexual to me."

Lelouch jerked his head up at her with an indignant squawk. "_What?_"

She smirked inwardly. _There we go..._ "I'm just saying," she said with a shrug. "If you're that hung up over it, it could be a sign of latent homosexuality, suppressed until now due to some sort of psychological trauma..." she trailed off as he stared at her incredulously.

"That — I — no," he said, shaking his head slowly. "I am not... gay for Suzaku. In any way, shape, or form."

She shrugged again. "Whatever you say, boy-a. Don't you have some tactics to be working out or something?" she added as he continued to stare at her. "You're taking up my bedspace."

Lelouch stood without protest, for once. "In fact, I do have something to do," he said coldly. "And I am not gay," he added vehemently for good measure.

"Sure, I believe you," she said, rolling her eyes.

"No, I'm really not."

"Whatever. I don't care."

His eye twitched. "You..." he broke off, shook his head, and stalked out of the room, apparently at a loss for words to level at her.

"He's completely in denial," CC said to the empty air once the door was shut. She cocked her head on one side, listening to a voice only she could hear. "What? No, I wasn't being serious. I just said it to stop him from being all depressed... though, actually, I wonder if... no, it's not like I'd care if he was, or anything. It's not like I..."

Bickering with the air, CC finished her pizza with a tiny smirk on her face, satisfied with a job well-done.

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**A/N: **Hm... I'm almost wondering if perhaps Lelouch was a bit too talkative in this one, considering how early in the series it's based, but... I don't know. Anyway. Comments/critiques/reviews are much appreciated.


	5. Power

**A/N:** Early update again (wow, I'm really not sticking to my schedule at all...), and unfortunately it's pretty short. Like, the shortest that I've written yet. )= The next one will be quite long, though, so that should be okay...

Thank you everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it. =)

This is a cracky theory I've had for awhile now, and am finally getting the chance to explore in this fic. It's insane of course, but it's a good reason (well, I thought so anyway) for why the boys might think that they actually have a chance at convincing anyone that Suzaku is the real Zero. Set during those two months of "So what happened?" in Turn 25.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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"So... how, exactly, does this work?" said Suzaku uneasily. They were standing in the empty throne room, a dark and shadowy place that still gave him the creeps. Lelouch was tending to some official matters, and he'd left the two of them to figure out the arrangement on their own.

"Simple." CC's voice was deceptively casual, a contrast to the stiffness of her posture and the way her eyes stayed fixed on his face. "Give me your hand."

She held out her own and he took it, marvelled at the difference between his skin and hers. Soft, smooth, pale, against rough and tan and callused. For a moment he was almost reminded of Euphie, but then she closed her hand around his in a tight grip and he was falling into a vaguely familiar landscape of blue and memories, and chains.

"Do you accept my contract?" Her voice cut through the flutter of images, anchoring him, cool and ethereal. "If you will grant one wish of mine, I will see to it that you have power. With it you will live as one among humans... and yet also as one completely different. The power of kings will make you lonely indeed. But if you feel that you have reason to accept..."

He swallowed, because of course he wanted to do nothing of the sort. The last thing that he would wish to do was accept such a curse, the same curse that had destroyed everything he loved and held dear... but they'd all agreed that this was really the only way to manage it, for him to accept the dubious power of Geass in order to convince everyone that he was the real Zero —

"Yes. I accept."

There was no reply from her, but another flicker of images — a planet, the sun, children, a crowd throwing stones at a stone building, a V-shaped insignia — and he was back in the throne room, stumbling away from the witch.

She did not try to close the distance between them. "So," she said with an unreadable expression. Her eyes were like lamps, piercing the gloom of the throne room. "When this is all over, you will accept my Code."

He nodded, trying to control his breathing. There was a strange sensation in his left eye, and he was possessed of the sudden urge to try it, this new power of his. But wait, wait. There was no need for the charade just yet. He wanted to go find Lelouch, ask him about this power, because the witch was too silent and watchful and alien for him to seek reassurance from. Better to go to an old friend, an old enemy, than to this strange woman.

"Very well then," she said, and left without another word.

It was not until Zero Requiem was completed that Suzaku learned what form his Geass took.

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**A/N:** I would really appreciate your comments/reviews.


	6. Glory

**A/N: **So, for once I'm actually uploading on a Friday. =) Thank you to Rollo-kun for reviewing. =) No, I won't be revealing Suzaku's Geass for a little while yet... mwahahahaha. Actually... -looks at the prompts- not for a really long while, unless I think of something different for one of them in order to reveal it earlier. ... ah, sorry.

Anyway, this one is set during season one between episodes 16 and 17. It started off light-hearted and then took a nosedive into depressing about halfway through. :/ And it is _long._ Like, the longest of all of them thus far...

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

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"What are you getting all uptight about?" asked CC as she watched Lelouch reorganize his room with nervous energy.

"Uptight?" He spared her only a momentary, anxious (and trying hard to hide it) glance. "Hardly — I'm just making sure that everything is in its right place, so no one could hope to suspect..."

"Suspect?" Lounging on the bed, gazing at him lazily from under her lashes, she was sure to be in his way. Not that she cared.

"Yes... Suzaku is coming over for dinner tonight — "

"Ah, a date! You've forgotten about that poor Shirley girl so soon, have you?"

That prompted a glare. "Don't be ridiculous," he said stiffly, and she was about to ask him which statement he found to be ridiculous — the implication that he had forgotten Shirley, or that he was dating Suzaku — when the doorbell rang.

"That's him!" said Lelouch, jumping, and he went to his bedroom door. "Stay in here, CC. If Suzaku sees you there will be a lot of unwanted questions." And then he was gone.

Rolling onto her back, CC gazed up at the ceiling. "Geez, you'd think I was in the habit of almost exposing his secret identity, or something..." she mused thoughtfully to the air.

—

Before opening the door, Lelouch schooled his features. It would not do to seem unduly apprehensive about anything — Nunally had already mentioned to him in a teasing voice that he seemed awfully nervous about just inviting a friend over for dinner, he didn't want Suzaku getting the wrong idea —

And here he shut down his thoughts before they could run away on him.

So he paused a moment, took a breath and smoothed his expression into an easy-going smile before he pulled the latch.

"Hey, Lelouch!" And there was Suzaku, wearing that hideous military uniform and a slightly uneasy smile. It took a moment for Lelouch to remember that his friend was probably also feeling quite troubled, as he led him into the living room to say hello to Nunally and Sayoko.

Of course, of course. Suzaku would have to be as unsure of himself as Lelouch, after what had been revealed only so very recently — that Suzaku had killed his own father. As he helped Sayoko prepare their evening meal, Lelouch wondered what he should be doing, if he should give his friend some form of reassurance that everything was okay...

But no. As he carried the dish out to the table with Sayoko, Suzaku looked up at him with a truly sincere smile and a joke about his feminine abilities. Nunally was holding his hand, and it seemed true after all: that whatever was troubling either Lelouch or Suzaku, they always felt better around Nunally.

"Well, at least I know how to look after myself," he said lightly in return to Suzaku's little jab, taking a seat at the table across from him and next to Nunally. "Can you even cook at all?"

"Ah, that's not true, I can cook fine. Nothing like this, though — whoa, you really went all out!" said Suzaku, gazing at his dish in awe.

"Hm, you're easily impressed," muttered Lelouch, and the other boy laughed it off. Chattering together, they began on their meal, Lelouch and Suzaku taking turns at feeding Nunally as Sayoko busied herself with housework elsewhere. It almost felt like old days, back when they were just three children playing together during a lazy summer. No secrets. No murdered fathers or enigmatic witches or Zero or Black Knights or anything. Perfectly at peace, and happy...

_After all this is over,_ thought Lelouch to himself as he watched Suzaku tell Nunally a funny story about a toad and a snake, _after all of this is over, and Britannia is destroyed, every day can be like this. Just the three of us. Together. No more Zero. _But even as he thought it, a memory came to him, unbidden, of green hair and gold eyes wearing an impassive expression. A promise. _"I will fulfil your wish, and mine." _He swallowed and forced himself not to ponder on the nature of wish, hoped fervently that the witch had obeyed him for once and confined herself to his room. He did not want her appearing here at just exactly the wrong moment and ruining things.

"... but, Suzaku-san, you'll be careful won't you?" Nunally's voice had an anxious edge to it, and Lelouch began to pay attention to their conversation again. "I know you're only in Engineering, but... still, you're in the military, and with that Zero and the Black Knights around, causing so much trouble..."

Lelouch very carefully avoided eye contact with Suzaku, who in fact seemed less than comfortable himself.

"Ah, don't worry about me," he said, rubbing the back of his head and forcing a smile into his voice. "I'll be fine... and it's not like I would ever do anything to make you unhappy, you know."

"You'd better not," said Lelouch lightly. "Or I'll beat you up for it."

Nunally giggled at the thought, but her face turned serious once more. "Really, Suzaku-san, I hope you're being careful."

Suzaku's face softened and a gentle, very real smile tugged at his lips. "I am, Nunally," he said quietly, and looked down, smile fading. "But... those Black Knights. And Zero. Someone has to stop them. Even if there are risks..." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling.

Lelouch swallowed and looked away. Suzaku looked so serious as he said it, so determined... did he really want so desperately to catch Zero? _No... this is just his guilt, again. When all of this is over and we can stand together in the new world, he'll understand. He'll know that Zero was right._

"The Black Knights are nothing more than glory-hounds," said Suzaku suddenly, harshly. Lelouch looked up, and Nunally turned to him with a tiny little frown marring her features. "All they care about is stirring up the populace and looking good. Zero doesn't care about the thousands of lives he's destroyed and taken, about the innocent civilians getting caught up in this, this campaign of his. It's the same as always, those who start wars do so for their own selfish reasons, they don't care about whoever they're hurting and killing in the process!" He spat it out in a rush. He was still staring at the ceiling, but there was a look of such righteous _rage_ on his face...

"Suzaku-san," said Nunally very quietly, worried. She was frowning even more deeply now, reaching to take his hand in her own. "Suzaku-san, don't be so upset. I'm sure things will turn out okay."

The anger on his face faded as he looked back down again, seeming to remember where he was and who was with him. "Ah... you're right, Nunally. I shouldn't get so worked up." And he smiled. Nervously, perhaps still a bit worried, she smiled back.

Lelouch looked at his plate and said nothing. He played absently with his food as they moved on to other, less dangerous subjects to speak of, and remained relatively quiet throughout the remainder of the meal and visit.

As he was saying goodbye to Suzaku at the door, the other boy paused a moment.

"Ah... see you later, Lelouch," he said awkwardly. There was such a vulnerable, worried look in his eyes, and Lelouch realized with a start just how brooding and quiet he'd been throughout the evening. _He must have thought I'm still hung up over his father..._

He forced a smile. "Yeah, see you later Suzaku," he said, and shook hands with him. Something like relief flowed across Suzaku's face, and yet there was still a slight wariness in his smile as he waved goodbye...

It wasn't until long after Nunally had been put to bed and Sayoko had retired to her own lodgings that Lelouch turned out his light and went to bed, steadfastly ignoring all of CC's knowing looks and little barbs. She was not supposed to have been close enough to have heard their dinner conversation, anyway.

Sometime later, just as he was on the edge of sleep, he felt her arms wrap around him and pull him close. He almost wanted to push her away (_Are you pitying me, CC?)_, but it was a nice feeling, somehow comforting, so he didn't

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**A/N:** Critiques/comments/reviews would be much appreciated!


	7. Bitter

**A/N: **Set during Turn 21, after prompt #3 (Repent). This one seems more like a triangle than a threesome, but still. Also... return of the angst in full force.

Thank you Bob115, chibi foxy and Rollo-kun for reviewing!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

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The door is destroyed, now, truly destroyed. If she wants to return to C's World, it will have to be at a different portal. But then, why should she do that? She has one thing left on this earth, at least, anchoring her to it. And it isn't as if she could stay in that other world forever, anyway.

She speaks as casually as she can, "So, are you going to go through with it?"

She cannot see him — she is facing away from the entrance of the cave, staring out into the distance. But she knows when he turns to her, uncertain.

The wind plays with her hair, cold enough to bite. She barely notices. It is nighttime still, and quiet. The distant sounds of battle are fading, the ships are leaving. It seems this island has been forgotten by the world. _Well, all the better for us._ She doesn't quite smile as he steps up beside her.

"Yes. I believe that I will."

"You will let Suzaku kill you."

A sigh. She is not looking at him, but she can see him staring at his still-bloody hand out of the corner of her eye. "That's right. That is the deal I made."

And at last she turns to him, expressionless. "A deal?"

What lovely eyes he has! Even as his face is bruised and smudged with dirt and soot and his hair lies in greasy disarray about it, still those eyes shine a deep purple-black in the brightness of the moon and starlight. Still they manage to look so very beautiful, and young, and sad, and just a little uncertain.

"I could have sworn I had a previous deal with you," she says casually, tilting her head on one side just so.

He swallows, looks away into the destroyed foliage of the island. "True." His voice — low, resigned, regretful.

"So, then, will you not do it after all? Will you take my Code and kill me here and now?" She feels perfectly safe in saying this, quietly, because Suzaku is asleep now in the cave behind them.

"No, CC. I will not lie to him anymore." And he smiles at her almost fondly. "No more scheming behind the backs of my allies."

_He's changed,_ she thinks. Things have happened while she sat locked away in her own mind — she left him alone for too long, he depends on Suzaku before her now. It almost hurts to admit it, and she finds herself annoyed at that. Why should it matter to her?

"And what of our deal, then? You remember, don't you? I gave you power, and in return you promised to grant one wish of mine."

"Yes, that's what I promised." A pause. "CC, what is your wish?"

She scoffs. "Are you stupid, or are you really just that forgetful?" He says nothing and she turns away from him again, eyes hard. "My wish is to die, as you well know."

"Is it, now?"

Why does he have to sound so — so condescending? What right does he have? Since when does he know more about her than she does?

__

("Master, you're always so nice to me!")

"Yes," she says almost harshly, because she doesn't want to remember that — how weak she was, how dependant. She'd thought she'd destroyed that part of her, or forgotten it, but the pathetic slave she once was had to reappear at just the worst possible time. "My wish is to die with you as my replacement, and you promised to grant it long before you entered into this silly deal with Suzaku. It takes priority." She sounds petty, childish almost. Bitter about his careless dismissal of their contract in favour of another. She can't find it in her to care about how immature she sounds — she never has.

"Of course our deal takes priority." How calmly and easily admits it! But he won't honour it. He never keeps his promises. "But CC, was that really your only wish? Was dying really the only wish you've ever had?"

Her eyes widen. A memory, explaining — _"My Geass made everyone love me... because, deep in my heart, what I truly wished for was someone to love me."_

She swallows, looks down. "Perhaps not," she says with feigned casualness. She can see his feet, clad in those dirtied, ridiculously flamboyant boots, moving as he shifts his weight and turns to her. She doesn't look up even as he raises one gloved hand to her face, not quite touching her cheek.

"Well, then," he whispers, a low rumble just for her. "I have granted one wish of yours."

His face is very close to hers. He tilts her chin up, just a bit, and kisses her. She doesn't respond at all, even as his hand brushes her throat, her chin, her cheek, even as his eyes flutter shut and his lips move just a little against hers. After a moment he moves away again, steps back and bows his head to her. He's nervous, she knows, and also resigned, and also very, very tired.

_If you love me, don't get yourself killed,_ she thinks, and _How am I supposed to smile when I die if you do this? _but she says nothing.

As he returns to the cave where Suzaku is sleeping, she looks up at the sky. It's beginning to brighten with the grey of dawn, and the stars are winking out one by one.

She doesn't cry.

* * *

**A/N:** Reviews/comments/critiques would be much appreciated! =)


	8. Smiles

**A/N:** Thank you GataAgua, Fallen One-Winged Tenshi, 2stupid and icarus923 for your reviews, they're really appreciated. =D

This one's set preseries. D'awwwww sappy young Lelouch and Suzaku (and Nunally, because she's kind of really hard to exclude. Not to mention, I would never want to). And CC the stalker. D=

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

* * *

Her hand was smooth and pale against the rough darkness of the tree bark. She stood silent beneath the shadows of the forest, looking out into the meadow where three children sat and chattered to one another. She was hidden well enough that they would not see her, but she was close enough to hear their conversation, to watch the expressions flicker and change on their faces.

Speaking of older siblings and martial arts teachers. Trading stories of palaces and shrines. Describing flowers to the little blind girl and pressing them into her hand so that she could feel them, experience something of their beauty with her own senses. Frowning, grimacing, laughing, blushing. Living. Changing.

"Hey, what's that expression on your face?" shouted the one, bulkier than the other two and brown-haired, darker skinned. He pointed gleefully at the slighter, darker haired boy. "I saw it, I saw it, don't hide it!"

"What is it?" asked the blind girl as the slight, dark haired boy glared at the other. "What's wrong with onii-sama?"

"He was making a weird expression, for him. He was smiling!" said the first boy. He, too, was grinning

"Yeah? And what's so strange about that?" challenged the dark haired boy, flushing a little.

"Well..." and now his friend's smile fell a little, became less certain. "Well, it's just that I don't usually see it!"

"Is that true, onii-sama?" The little girl reached out blindly to pat at her brother's arm. "That you hardly ever smile nowadays... onii-sama, are you not happy?"

He didn't jerk away from her touch, but he threw the other boy a very dirty look. "It's not true at all. I'm always happy now, it's just that this _idiot_ doesn't understand facial expressions."

His punishment for this scornful comment was a swift punch to the arm, and he punched back almost automatically — or tried to. It swung wide, and his friend jumped away, laughing.

"Little pansy-ass!" he shouted. "You can't hit me!"

"Onii-sama, what is it? What's wrong?" said the little girl worriedly. He looked after his friend, dancing just out of reach, and plopped back down at her side.

"Nothing," he said gently, and then, less kindly, in a voice raised to carry, "Only this idiot trying to solve everything with muscle again."

The idiot in question squawked. "I heard that!" he shouted. He was leaving, now, running backwards across the meadow. "Well, if that's how you treat me, see if I'll stay!"

Gold eyes watched with mild interest as he ran across the meadow and then jumped down abruptly to roll through a patch of flowers. He had such boundless energy, such vibrant life to him. Such childish, reckless abandon.

The siblings waited by the rock. The black-haired boy watched with something like scorn in his eyes at the way his friend rolled and shouted in the grass, wild with delight and absolutely unaware of how silly he looked — or perhaps just not caring about it. But there was something else there, too — desire, almost, or jealousy. A wish to be able to so easily abandon himself in the same way.

And yet...

"Onii-sama? What's Suzaku-san doing?"

Her brother snorted, looked away. "Nothing," he said shortly. "Just making a fool out of himself."

"Oh." She sounded a little sad at this. A moment passed, and there was a garbled sort of yell from Suzaku — a cry of shock and delighted surprise, perhaps, at having found something unexpected. "He seems to be having fun, at least. Onii-sama, do you want to join him?"

He started at that. "What — join him...? Of course not. We'll just stay here and wait till he comes back and stops being an idiot."

"Okay." Subdued, quiet, and the boy looked as though he wasn't sure what exactly he had done wrong.

Hidden beneath the trees, the watcher shifted her weight silently, leaned her head against the rough bark, blinked out lazily into the meadow. It was not long before the other boy — Suzaku — returned, holding something carefully in his hands.

"What's that?" Though he tried to sound haughty, the dark-haired boy could not keep the curiosity out of his voice as his friend drew near.

"This," said Suzaku very importantly, "Is... a caterpillar!"

"Geh?" was his friend's eloquent response as he opened his hands to reveal the crawling, wriggling creature.

"Oh, a caterpillar?" said the little girl. She giggled a little. "That's not good. Onii-sama doesn't like creepy crawling things like that."

"Nunally! Don't tell him that!" protested her brother as Suzaku turned on him with a look of somewhat devilish glee. He squirmed away as those cupped hands approached, threatening. "Stop it!"

Suzaku laughed, and so did little blind Nunally. "You're such a wimp!" he said, and then, "Nunally, do you want to see the caterpillar?"

She held out her hands. "Yes, please!" And he dropped the creature into them. She giggled at the feel of its many legs crawling across the softness of her palms, and in the background her brother looked on with apprehension.

"See?" said Suzaku triumphantly. "Nothing to be afraid of."

The other boy huffed, unconvinced. He peered in closer, a little curious, a little worried. "What if it's poisonous?"

"I wouldn't put something poisonous in Nunally's hands!"

"Well, you'd better not."

"It's okay onii-sama. Look!" And with only this as warning, she jerked her hands through the air, deposited the little creature on her brother's arm.

He let out an involuntary squeak of surprise and flicked it away in one, jerky movement. Suzaku dissolved into laughter.

"You're such a girl!" he said as the other boy flushed, embarrassed.

"Huh? What is it, what happened?" asked Nunally, and in between his giggles Suzaku told her. She smiled despite herself.

"I'm sorry, onii-sama," she said when he turned to her with a hurt look — perhaps she could tell from the hand that was just barely touching her arm. "But you really can be very silly about those kinds of things, sometimes."

"Hm. Maybe." And he looked away again, still embarrassed. Perhaps noticing this, Suzaku reached forward to tickle him on the ribs. He jumped and squeaked again.

"Oi — Suzaku! Stop it!" he complained, loudly, but his heart wasn't into it. There was a delighted glimmer in his eyes as he kicked ineffectually at the much stronger boy. For once, Nunally did not have to ask what was happening — the sounds told her well enough.

"Aw come on, Lelouch — smile!" said Suzaku at last, pulling back. Lelouch had closed his eyes at some point during the tickling, and now he opened them, sitting straight again. There was still a hint of red in his pale cheeks, but all other signs of his previous embarrassment had disappeared — and in another moment he obeyed his friend's request.

"Is he doing it?" demanded Nunally. "Onii-sama, are you smiling?"

"He is!" shouted Suzaku, and poked him right in the chest. This brought a scowl, and again the Japanese boy laughed. "Oh no, now he isn't."

"That's not right. Onii-sama, smile!"

Laughing and joking, they lost track of the time in that sunlit meadow. And, watching them from the shadows and safety of the trees, the witch, too, felt a smile tug across her lips.

* * *

**A/N:** Reviews/comments/critiques would be much treasured. =)


	9. Her

**A/N:** Thank you to ryder77 for reviewing, you don't know how happy it made me to receive it (I'd make the heart symbol if ffdotnet wouldn't eat it). And yeah, Lelouch's insect-phobia... saw it popping up, thought it was a good idea. XD

Anyway, this one gave me quite a bit of trouble. I rewrote it several times, and it still didn't turn out quite how I wanted... (hence the sort-of-late update). Set during Turn 21, after Prompt #7. Also, mentions of Euphie/SuzaEuphie, because she's a big part of the issues between Lelouch and Suzaku.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

* * *

They set up camp on the beach, a place that seemed ridiculously open in comparison to the rest of the island. Lelouch had said that it would only be a week or two that they would have to stay here until Jeremiah Gottweld was able to come collect them, but none of them wanted to remain holed up in the cave that held the entrance to C's World. The woods would have, perhaps, been a more sensible choice, but Lelouch had wanted to be out in the open air for whatever reason.

Suzaku had agreed without comment, content to follow the other's will for the time being. It was almost a relief to let someone else take control for a bit instead of trying to force his own desires through as he had been trying to do before — it was a strange bit of irony that it was only when he was to all intents and purposes free to do as he would that he stopped trying to make decisions for himself. Well... free except for that strange, bloody pact forged in C's World, one which he still harboured several questions about. But for now he set the matter aside.

He even consented to catch some fish for them all when CC complained of being hungry, in the very same stream that he had caught fish for him and Kallen almost a year ago. As CC took her turn roasting a fish over the fire that Lelouch had built while Suzaku fished, she wrinkled her nose a little and he had the impression that this wasn't what she'd had in mind. Well, too bad for her.

Sitting beside the fire, cooking fish beneath the open, starry sky, to the casual observer they might appear to be just three teenagers camping out on the beach for a week — aside from their weapons and clothing, which stated clearly to the entire world that the campers were in fact Britannia's Knight of Seven, the unmasked Zero, and a green-haired girl who wore Zero's cloak wrapped around her undergarments and nothing else. The vague atmosphere of camaraderie that accompanied their situation made Suzaku's skin want to crawl, but at the same time felt strangely... comforting. They were all they had left in this world, now, these three bound together by guilt, hatred, and broken promises.

Afterwards, once the sun had set and a cool breeze began to blow in from the sea, Suzaku buried the remnants of their meal and searched for driftwood along the beach to bank their dying campfire. When he returned, it was to find Lelouch lying back on the sand, staring up wistfully at the sky. CC sat on the rock that he laid his head against, balancing a little precariously, knees pulled to her chest, Zero's cloak still wrapped around her to block out the wind.

With some annoyance, Suzaku stepped around Lelouch and set his meagre pickings next to the fire, tossing a few sticks in to revive it a little. There was a prickle on the back of his neck, and he looked up in time to catch the witch turning her gaze downwards and away from him, an expression of vague disprovement in her eyes. He frowned just a little and opened his mouth to say something —

"I don't suppose you know any of the constellations?" said Lelouch conversationally.

Suzaku looked down at him, distracted. "... of course I do," he said at last, a little guardedly. "I'm not a complete idiot."

"Oh?" said Lelouch. "Name some."

Suzaku craned his neck and searched the heavens. "Um..."

"That can't be comfortable," remarked CC casually from behind him, and he jumped a little. Giving her a slightly resentful look, he sat carefully against the rock she was perched on, tilting his head back to search the heavens. The stars were only just beginning to appear, white shining specks against the deep blue-black of the sky.

"I don't know," said Suzaku at last. "It's too early for me to see any — "

"Sure you do," said Lelouch amiably. "There, that one," he continued, pointing, "Surely you can name that?"

Suzaku followed his gesture and blinked. "Ah... that's — "

"Ursa Major," supplied Lelouch, "More commonly known as the Big Dipper. ... but it's known as something else in Japan, isn't it?"

Suzaku looked at him questioningly out of the corner of his eye. What's he trying to do...? They had barely talked throughout the rest of the day, and when they had it was only when necessary, and always perfectly polite. But Lelouch wasn't even looking at him; he seemed wholly focussed on the stars above.

"... yeah," he said at last, cautiously, half-curious. "It translates to pretty much the same thing, but the Japanese call it... ummm, Oo-guma, if I remember right."

"You probably do," said Lelouch easily. "You're good at remembering things," and Suzaku gave him a very weird look at that. He had never once displayed any sort of remarkably good abilities to remember anything, that he was aware of, but the comment almost seemed to have not been made for his benefit.

Behind him, he heard CC shift a little and let out a small huff of breath in either annoyance or exasperation or both.

They sat there for awhile — or rather, he and CC sat there, leaning against and perched on the rock, respectively, while Lelouch lay with his head just barely propped up about a foot from Suzaku's thigh — just staring up at the sky and watching as the last trails of orange from the sunset faded away and were replaced with stars. Beside them, the fire crackled and popped every now and then, but mostly just burned quiet and almost dormant at their side.

Suzaku was just beginning to drop off into sleep, never mind that his back was still to that unknown variable, CC, when Lelouch spoke again.

"You know... Euphie taught me the names of the stars."

Suzaku's eyes opened wide, but otherwise didn't move. His voice was... strange. Pensive, and wistful, almost. Suzaku had the feeling that if he said anything, moved at all, Lelouch would fall silent and never mention her again, and if there was anything that he needed more than anything right now it was this — Euphie, for Lelouch to speak about her in his own words, honestly and truthfully.

And so he waited, silent, almost breathless with anticipation. It was only a moment or two later that Lelouch began speaking again, his voice very quiet and soft in comparison to its usual tone and volume.

"She used to play with us all the time, you know. With Nunally... and me. We'd sit out and watch the stars together... she was never the bookish type. She liked being outside. She liked to see people happy."

Suzaku clenched his teeth at that, but stopped himself from speaking.

"Really... I don't remember her ever being wilfully cruel to anyone. The Euphie that I knew was a good, kind person. I can understand why you fell for her."

"Then why did you kill her?" said Suzaku at last, unable to stop himself. "If you had such good memories of her, why...?"

There was a cool pressure on his neck — CC had sneaked a hand out from beneath the cloak and laid it against the junction of his neck and shoulder, almost gently. When he turned to her she gazed back expressionlessly, but somehow he got the feeling that she wanted him to shut up. Well, screw her. He wanted answers, and this witch was not going to get in the way —

Lelouch let out a sigh and turned over, away from Suzaku. "Goodnight," he said quietly, and Suzaku knew the moment was gone. There would be no point in trying to force answers from him tonight. The knowledge left a bitter taste in his mouth — hadn't he promised Lelouch that he'd help him? Didn't he deserve at least a few answers regarding Lelouch's previous actions?

CC's fingers pushed a little harder against his neck again before sliding away, and when he looked at her again she had curled up on the rock with her back to him, apparently asleep or at least soon-to-be.  
_  
Well, after all, we'll be here for about another week at least_, he thought. _Plenty of time for him to tell me..._

He sighed and turned away from both of them, stared into the fire, waited for sleep to come.

And so they fell asleep that way, close but not quite touching, all curled against the rock next to the dying campfire.

* * *

**A/N: **Apologies if my constellations-in-Japanese thing is incorrect --- I don't speak Japanese, I just found it on the internet. Also, I don't know if my characterization of Lelouch makes _any_ sense to anyone else in this scene --- quiet, introspective and a bit secretive is how I imagined him to be during the 1-month timeskip, but I don't know if that's just me or what.


	10. Sister

**A/N:** Thank you to **LawliPop**, **Vanillarouge's Productions**, **Somebody**, **Lord Bear** and **Namiko Shigemoto** for reviewing, I'm really grateful for your feedback. And sorry for taking so long to update --- an extra week! --- this scene gave me a lot of trouble. I'm still not sure it came out quite how I wanted it to, but ah well.

Set before sometime between episode 11 and episode 17 in Season One.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

* * *

"CC, will you come with me to see the sunset?" she asks. There's nothing better to do, and there's no one around, and Lelouch isn't here to chide CC and tell her to stay inside — so she shrugs and gets up off the couch and goes.

They are in the garden now, CC leaning lazily against the wheelchair. Nunally cannot see the sunset, cannot admire its colours and glow, but she has her face turned to the warmth and is smiling so that must be all right.

The girl sighs happily. "Ah, CC, isn't this wonderful?"

A noncommital shrug, though of course she cannot see it. "Sure." Gold eyes on the girl, and she thinks that she hasn't changed much from the little girl that played at the shrine those seven years ago. Still so blissfully oblivious, and perfectly content with the world so long as she has her loved ones at her side.

It's a pity her brother can't understand that.

"CC-san... I've been meaning to ask you. What... what exactly is your relationship with my brother?"

A slow, lazy blink. "We have a contract, that's all."

The pretty, blind head tilts just a little, inquiringly. "What sort of contract?"

"A grown up one..." says CC vaguely, and watches with some interest as Nunally blushes, perhaps aware of the implications and perhaps not. She won't mention it to Lelouch, probably, which is a good thing, because if she did — well, CC would get a talking to. Not that she'd care.

"Ah... I see." She turns her head to the side. The sun has almost completely disappeared beneath the horizon now, and her face is half in shadow. "CC – " she begins, but is cut off by a shrill ringing. She frowns just a little, reaches to answer the hand-held telephone that she has brought out with them. "Sorry... hello?"

CC watches the sky fading from gold to blue as Nunally speaks to whoever is on the other end. "Oh... yes, I see. Thank you for telling me, Suzaku-san... no, no, I'm fine. I have a friend over... yes, thank you. ... I hope you can find time to visit soon, I'd love to see you. Onii-sama, too — he's always so happy when you come over... yes, goodbye."

She lets her hand fall gently into her lap, still clutching the phone. "Ah... CC-san, it seems onii-sama's going to be coming home late again tonight." She's trying to be cheerful, but she sounds a little put out all the same. "Really," she continues, "I wonder what he does these days... he's always coming home late, and Shirley says he sleeps in class all the time..."

"Who's Suzaku?" asks CC smoothly.

Nunally blinks, surprised out of her contemplation. "Oh... he's a friend."

"A friend?"

The worried expression is sliding from her face, settling into something happier, more relaxed. "Yes — a very dear friend. Onii-sama thinks very highly of him."

"Does he...?" And she is truly curious now, not just trying to distract the girl from wondering about her brother's late nights out. Because she remembers those moments when she touched the Lancelot and thought she saw someone there — a face, almost familiar for all that she'd only seen it a few times before — and if she is right, what then — ?

Nunally nods vigorously. "Oh, yes. He thinks Suzaku-san's very strong — he's always telling me that Suzaku-san is so capable. He says that he's stupid, sometimes, but that he's a good person for all that — he's always so much more at ease when Suzaku-san's around! I think Suzaku-san's really a great person, too. Onii-sama really trusts him, and I do too... Hm? CC-san?"

"The sun's finished setting," she says as she turns the chair and heads back to the house. "It'll be getting cold soon."

"Oh... yes, I suppose."

"This Suzaku sounds like an interesting person, to be able to make even that neurotic Lelouch relax..."

"Onii-sama isn't neurotic!" But she laughs after she says it, perhaps aware that she's lying. And she continues to chatter happily with CC, telling her stories of the things her brother and Suzaku have gotten up to. CC walks and listens quietly, obediently, but her thoughts are far away.

__

And if I am right — if I am right — Lelouch, can you really do it? Can you really fire on someone precious to you...?

Well, perhaps she is wrong then. Wait and see. Time will tell.

__

We'll see how far you're willing to take this after all.

**A/N:** A bit short... sorry. Comments/reviews/critiques would be greatly appreciated, as always. :)

* * *


	11. Escape

**A/N: **Thank you **Namiko Shigemoto **for reviewing! I'm really glad you're enjoying it.

Argh, sorry that this took so long. I had major writers' block for this prompt, but hopefully it turned out okay. It's also rather short. :(

Set pre-series, after Britannia invades but before Suzaku is separated from Lelouch and Nunally.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

* * *

It was almost nightfall, and Lelouch was getting worried. He had hoped they'd be able to get back to Nunally before it got completely dark, when he suggested this venture, and he wasn't sure they could find their way back without being able to see. More than that, Suzaku had promised it wouldn't take longer than half an hour for him to get what they needed, and now it had been nearly an hour. He had every confidence in Suzaku's ability to get himself out of whatever scrape he might find himself in, but still...

And of course, if Suzaku did get into trouble it was his fault, all his fault. Suzaku hadn't wanted to do it. "My people are suffering," he said. "I shouldn't take away from them what little they have." Lelouch hadn't quite understood the sentiment — he cared nothing for his own country, and little more for Japan — but he had at last persuaded him to go steal some food, for Nunally's sake. And all this out of her hearing so that she could not reproach them their methods.

He had wanted to stay back at the shed with her, keep her safe, but she had told him that if Suzaku was going into town — to buy food, she thought, unaware that none of them had any Britannian currency with which to pay — she thought Lelouch should go with him to keep him company. So they had gone down to the town together, but at Suzaku's request ("You'll just get in the way," he'd said, laughing to take the edge off the words) he had stayed here, waiting on the outskirts behind the tree where they had agreed to meet.

And now it was almost dark, and Suzaku hadn't returned yet.

As he leaned against the tree and tried to calm his fears, his eyes searched frantically through the gathering darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of his friend. He wished the cicadas would shut up — the low hum of their call had at one point been comforting to him, but now it just grated on his nerves.

A movement. _Suzaku?_ He stood up straight, staring intently. There, across the small dirt road, between the buildings: the outline of a dark-clothed figure — too big for his friend. He shrank back, fear rising in the back of his throat. Another movement, and he caught the familiar impression of sunflowers on blue cloth, the flash of green hair.

_... is that...?_

The fear was leaving him, but before he could finish the thought a hand grabbed roughly at his arm.

He jumped, letting out a small squeak of surprise as he turned — but it was only Suzaku, eyes wide, breathing hard, holding up a half-full sack. "I got some food," he said, not even pausing to tease Lelouch for his jumpiness — he hardly teased Lelouch at all these days, the world too busy and grim for him to want to joke around anymore. "I got it, but I was seen — I'm being followed — we have to go!"

Lelouch didn't waste time on questions. Even as Suzaku spoke, he could hear the shouting of his pursuers.

"We should split up," gasped Lelouch as they ran through the trees, "So we won't lead them back to Nunally — "

"You'd be caught!" interrupted Suzaku. Lelouch couldn't even find the breath to argue.

The trees cast long shadows on the ground, hiding treacherous dips — he tripped into one, and went crashing to the ground. _Oh, no — _

"Oi! Thief!"

"Get the little brats!"

They were getting closer — he tried to stand, and slipped on some leaves. His knee was stinging.

Suzaku's hands, pulling him up roughly, dragging him along behind. "Come on, you clumsy prince!"

_He shouldn't have come back for me. _There was no way either of them would make it back to Nunally at this rate. The Japanese villagers probably wouldn't kill them, but they might hurt them. And Nunally shouldn't be left alone for so long...

A rustle. He turned, caught a glimpse of green in the bushes – Suzaku hadn't noticed, he was too focussed on seeing their footing in the deepening gloom.

"Oi! What's that?" A man's voice from behind them, and the sounds of several people coming to a stop.

Lelouch wanted to stop, too, and see what was happening, but Suzaku was far more sensible. He kept them running, running, until the only sounds were their own harsh breathing and the rustle of their feet in the undergrowth.

At last he let them pause, and Lelouch promptly collapsed on the ground, heaving with breath. Suzaku remained on the alert, ever wary of more signs of pursuit.

"Are... are they... gone?" gasped Lelouch between breaths, looking up hopefully at his friend.

Suzaku nodded, his own chest heaving. "I think so," he said, more evenly. He had always been more in shape than Lelouch. He frowned. "But I don't understand... why did they stop?"

Lelouch looked down again, tried to steady his breathing.

__

"I was just asked... to look after you..."

He swallowed. "Probably... they lost sight of us, and gave up..." he said. "Come on, let's go back to Nunally."

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**A/N:** Again, sorry for the delay and the shortness. Comments/critiques/reviews would be greatly appreciated.


	12. Rose

**A/N:** Thank you **ryder77,** **Lord Bear**, and **VNEpic** for your reviews! I'm really glad you're enjoying it. :)

This one's only a bit late. Set sometime between Turn 21 and Turn 22. More Euphie. Also, CC-Suzaku interaction ftw!

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

* * *

"I didn't know you liked flowers." That witch again. Why was she here? He'd come to the royal gardens in order to find some peace — why couldn't she be off conspiring or something with Lelouch, instead of bothering him?

"I don't," he said at last, fingers curling a little more tightly around the rose he'd picked and had been looking at.

She stepped forward, tilting her head on one side. "Oh?" She looked almost amused as she held out her hand to him. "May I have it, then?"

He clutched it tighter to him for a moment, tight enough that the thorns bit into his flesh just a little. And then he relented, held it out to her stiffly. "If you want it."

She pulled it from his hands carelessly, held it up to her face to inspect it closely. "Hm... pink's a nice colour, don't you think?"

His movements paused, and he looked at her carefully. She seemed utterly absorbed in the flower, her remark offhand and rhetorical. Nonetheless, he found himself replying. "... I suppose."

"Better than black, I wonder?"

He snorted. "Black's not a colour, it's a shade."

"Hm..." She looked at him over the flower, gold eyes considering rather than amused, now. The silence lengthened, and at last he looked away, feeling vaguely awkward.

He cleared his throat, turning to go. "Well, if that's all..."

"He cried when he killed her, you know."

He went very, very still.

"Actually, he didn't cry while he killed her. But he did cry when he realized that was the only way to stop her." She sounded almost casual as she said it, and he imagined her still bending over the rose as she spoke, giving him these revelations almost off-handedly.

He swallowed without turning around, held up his hand to look at the tiny marks the rose thorns had left on his palm. "Then... why did he do it?"

"Hm. Maybe you should ask, 'did he do it'...?"

He did turn around at that, hands clenched into fists again. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "'Did he do it' — are you trying to say that Zero — that Lelouch — didn't use his geass on Euphie?"

She only looked at him.

He laughed, a strange barking sound that tore at his throat. "Don't be ridiculous! He told me himself — he ordered it, he told her to kill the Japanese! He admitted — !" And he cut himself off, remembering the look in Lelouch's eyes when he had said that. _"Blame me for everything."_ ... had that been a lie then? He hadn't really...?

"Oh, no, he definitely used the geass on her. But... whether he intended to or not is another matter entirely."

He looked at her, surprised from his thoughts. "Intended to...? But that's — it's impossible. His geass is — "

"Do you remember Mao?"

He blinked at her. "Mao..." _Isn't that...?_

"He kidnapped Nunally when you all still went to Ashford. He told Lelouch the truth about what had happened to your father. You remember?"

He nodded, jerkily — and of course, of course she would know that, too. Lelouch probably told her everything.

She was looking at the rose still. "Mao... had a geass. He could hear others' thoughts — that's how he beat Lelouch at chess, how he knew everything about you."

It wasn't that surprising. He hadn't really thought about it much at the time, so worried was he about Lelouch learning his secret — and wasn't that just a ridiculous thought, now, when Lelouch'd had a much darker secret himself.

"His geass though... it had a problem. He couldn't turn it off. It was always on... it drove him mad."

_Hence the kidnapping,_ he thought drily, and then he realized what she'd said.

"Do you mean... Lelouch's is the same?"

"Yes. He didn't know it at the time, but when he spoke to Euphemia... it was permanent."

There was a silence between them. He looked away, across the royal gardens. It was so quiet here — no one ever came. The newly-crowned Emperor had declared it to be out of bounds.

"So... he didn't mean for it to happen?" he said at last, quietly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her nod almost absently, not looking at him. "Then... why? Why didn't he tell me? I could've - I would've — "

"Would you have believed him?"

He looked at her, and she at him, waiting. He opened his mouth, and shut it again. _No, I wouldn't have. Not back then._ "... I believe you," he said at last.

She raised her eyebrows at that. "Oh, do you? In any case, he was still responsible. He still gave the order, though it was only made in jest. And if he'd had a harder heart, he maybe could have killed her before things got really out of hand — before she'd ruined her reputation and become the massacre princess. ...well, but then he'd have had no reason to, and the people would have hated him. Really, he took the only course of action possible."

His fists shook at that, to know that Lelouch had used her death and the deaths of all those people so callously. A_nd I'm — I'm helping him? This monster? I've - I've forgiven him, almost, for all the suffering he's caused?_ But then, it wasn't as if he himself was a perfect saint, was it? He had killed his own father, after all, not to mention millions of innocent civilians when he set of FLEIJA. _But I didn't mean to — !_

And neither, he knew now, had Lelouch.

She seemed to grow tired of smelling the flower, tossed it carelessly to the side, and the gesture made him ask — "Why? Why would you do such a thing, give him — give Mao — why would you give people such a curse?"

She looked up at him, eyes widening — she had not expected the question. And in response to his challenge, she shrugged, relaxed her face into nonchalance.

"What do I care how they suffer, if they manage to grant my wish?"

And she turned and walked away, leaving him alone among the flowers.

* * *

**A/N: **Feedback would be greatly appreciated. :)

* * *


	13. Heart

**A/N: **Whoa, so many reviews last chapter! Thank you very much to **Lord Bear** (working through it, steadily but surely? XD), **xxxCodeTsubasa**, **icarus923**, **CrystalLilypad**, **Avion-Exile**, **SylverEyes**, and **ramuthra** (is your username from the Bartimaeus Trilogy...?). I'm very appreciative of and encouraged by your feedback. :)

This one is set directly after Stage 17 in season one, when Lelouch learns Suzaku is piloting the Lancelot. I intended it to be angsty, but it kind of turned out more fluffy... the direct opposite of what usually happens to me. o_0

Also, sort of spoilers for Marianne.

* * *

He didn't say anything when he emerged from the Knightmare. He was perfectly in control as he made his way back to his quarters in the Black Knights' base, standing straight and tall, betraying no emotion. She followed silently, for once not in a teasing mood.

_"Oh, my, what's happened now?"_ asked Marianne, curious and amused at the same time. She couldn't watch what was happening around her son all the time, so often she would have to ask. _"CC. You're uneasy about something."_

He was still walking right beside her so of course she said nothing. Marianne tried to get her to answer once or twice, and then gave up, still with the vague air of amusement. Of course. She knew CC would tell her the whole story later. She always did.

The sliding door shut behind them, and he sat down heavily on the couch.

"Well? What's wrong, boy?" she said after a moment's pause. He hadn't taken off his mask.

No answer. With an exasperated sigh, she made her way over to the couch and leaned over him.

"Oi. Lelouch."

He still didn't reply, so she reached forward and took the mask off herself, set it on the table next to them. He blinked up at her, looking strangely pale and small within the dramatic confines of his wide collar. When she took his chin in her hand and tilted it up so that she could look properly into his eyes, he jerked away roughly.

"What do you want, CC," he said, sounding very tired all of a sudden.

_ "Indeed, what do you want with him? What have I missed?"_

She let her hand fall back to her side. "Not much," she said, sitting down on the table and staring at him intently. He looked away.

Marianne was miffed._ "Not much? Well, it seems like quite a lot to me. Why is he so upset, hm?"  
_  
CC ignored her. "That guy, in the white knightmare. He's Kururugi Suzaku, isn't he? Your friend?"

_"Oh, now, this could be interesting,"_ said Marianne. That woman found too much entertainment in watching her son suffer.

Lelouch swallowed, still staring away. "... yes."

"This could be a problem," she said, standing. He glanced at her. "Someone who's that high in the army... well, it was always risky, your friendship with him. But now it's downright dangerous."

He shifted his gaze to the floor.

"Are you going to kill him?" she asked casually, sitting down beside him. His whole body went rigid, and she watched him out of the corner of her eye as she pretended to stare at the opposite wall.

_"Don't be silly, CC,_" said Marianne. _"Of course he won't. He's always been soft-hearted."_

_Not like you,_ thought CC, but she didn't voice it. It didn't matter — that had been the woman's last comment; she felt her presence fade away as her host moved on to more pressing matters.

Lelouch appeared to have reached a conclusion to some inner debate. He sat up straight. "No, I will not. There are other ways of dealing with... with this whole issue."

"I'm sure there are."

He gave her a look, and she raised her eyebrows at him. He heaved a sigh and lay back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "In the meantime..." he said, "I have things to figure out regarding the Black Knights. Now that we have Toudou and the Four Holy Blades on our side, there is a need for reorganization..." he trailed off.

She waited.

"What the hell is he _thinking?_" he muttered, frowning at the ceiling. "Piloting some sort of prototype... and he said he'd been transferred to the engineering department!"

"It's not like you've ever lied to him about anything, of course."

"Shut up." He couldn't even manage to say it vehemently. There was such a sad look in his eyes. It was getting on her nerves.

Abruptly, she reached for him, pulled him down awkwardly so that his head was resting in her lap. He strained against her, confused, and she held him down all the more firmly, silently glad that Marianne was unable to witness this. _Soft-hearted indeed._

"CC, what are you — ?"

"Hush," she said, putting her hand across his mouth. "I heard somewhere that resting your head in someone's lap was comforting, or some such thing." She leaned back against the couch, stroking his bangs absently, and after a moment he relaxed.

"... where from?" he asked, a little drowsily.

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Is it true?"

A silence. He moved his head a little, shifted the position of his body against the couch. "Ah... maybe."

She shut her eyes. "Good."

Silence, except for their breathing. She felt his, soft and fluttering against the palm of her hand resting on his chin almost on top of his mouth. Some time later she heard him begin to snore softly.

"He's not a bad boy," she said quietly, and she knew Marianne heard her. "For all that he's soft-hearted... he'll owe me pizza for this later, though."

* * *

**A/N:** Feedback would be greatly treasured. Also, next week might be a bit late, sorry. I'll try my best.


	14. Bleed

**A/N: **Thank you **icarus923**,** Infidel Pumpkin** and **SylverEyes** for your reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)

Also, I've changed the rating on this fic to T, because there is going to be some slightly more mature subject matter in this fic... no full-out sex (if and when I get to that, I will skip that scene in this fic and link you to my livejournal), though there will be allusions, etc. Not in this chapter, just yet, but I thought I'd better change it before I forgot.

This one is set during Stage 11 of season one, after CC mindfucked Suzaku.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

* * *

He managed to drag her partway up the mountain in the ensuing dust cloud, carrying her like a sack across his shoulder. It was not easy-going — she had fainted only a few moments after she told him to run, and the dead weight of her unconscious body was not an easy one to handle.

He ducked into the first cave he found, and set her on the ground as gently as he could, whipping his mask off to take in great gulps of air. He'd been getting more fit, lately, while running around directing the Black Knights, but climbing up a mountain with an unconscious girl in his arms had definitely taken a toll on him.

After he had caught his breath a little, he went to her, leaning limply against the wall. The late afternoon sunlight haloed her, and made all-the-more noticeable the hole in her chest left from the shrapnel.

He swallowed, glanced nervously at the mouth of the cave. It was dangerous here, far too open. Anyone might see him. With a weary sigh, he picked her up again, carefully, carefully, and walked further into the cave. He was quite sure he wouldn't get lost.

By the time he deemed them far enough hidden, he set her down against a rock. There was a cave pool here — good. He would need that to clean her wounds. He had not once heard her heartbeat, not once felt her breath in all the time that he'd been carrying her, but that was probably just because he was breathing so hard himself.

And now... now was the difficult part. He knew very little about treating injuries, but he was vaguely aware that they should be kept clean. He could probably manage that — there was the pool (and they were clean in these places, right? Something to do with the minerals...), and he had a handkerchief stashed somewhere in this costume, clean of course...

The real problem was how to get at it. After a few moments' deliberation, he kneeled next to her and reached for the zippers and catches to her suit with only slightly trembling fingers.

_I've seen her in less than this, anyway,_ he reminded himself as he began to ease her out of the straight-jacket, mildly disturbed at the limpness of her body. _And it's not like either of us care. And I'm trying to help her, the silly show-off..._

Just what had she thought she was doing? Going up against a knightmare on her own — it was ridiculous! Whatever she'd done to the pilot, it had sent him into some kind of madness... what had she shown him?

What had she shown _him? _A flicker of images, symbols, her crying and alone, and... and... he couldn't be sure, because it was only for an instant, but — Suzaku? Suzaku. Screaming. Suzaku, afraid and hurt. Suzaku, weak. Suzaku being everything he was not supposed to be, and Lelouch couldn't even reach to help him.

He pulled her clothes away and set them to the side, for once not bothering to fold them and make them tidy, shoved the troubling thoughts away. He had to deal with what was on hand, right now. He laid her back against the rock, averting his eyes from her naked form as best he could. But he would have to look at her to clean her wound...

He swallowed, told himself that he was being ridiculous, and looked boldly at her chest, eyes fixed on the wound.

It wasn't bleeding much. He dabbed at it gingerly, holding her side awkwardly so that she wouldn't fall. When he pulled the handkerchief away, it was spotted with blood, and he dipped a clean corner of it in the pool so that he could dab at the wound again. He could only hope this would be enough — he couldn't very well take her into the hospital.

She looked so cold, so vulnerable, and almost without thinking his eyes went lower, seeking out the scar he had seen. She had too many secrets. She knew everything about him — shouldn't he know something, at least, about her?

Hesitantly, he pressed a gloved hand to it. She made a sound, and moved a little, tilting her head. He looked up at her quickly — it would be just like her to wake up just when they were in the most awkward position. But no, her eyes were still shut.  
_  
Th-thump._

He blinked. Again, and he realized what it was — her heartbeat, pulsing against his fingertips. And even as he watched, the bleeding stopped and the wound began to close in on itself, slowly but steadily.

He drew his hand back, and stepped away in surprise, eyes wide. _What on earth...?_

But then, she had been shot in the head in Shinjuku, hadn't she? He'd wondered about that, thought she had faked it, perhaps... here it was, now, the truth staring him in the face.

_Witch, indeed._

All of a sudden, it occurred to him that she might wake very soon. And he could just imagine the comments she'd make about him staring at her unclothed body. He jerked his cloak off his shoulders and leaned forward, covered her with it like a blanket. That would have to do for now, to preserve her modesty — he wasn't going to risk trying to re-dress her and have her wake up half-way through.

Then he settled back to wait, wondering about this strange girl and what her powers could mean for him.

* * *

**A/N:** Hopefully that wasn't too short. Next chapter will probably be awhile in coming, as I'm going on a Spring Break trip the Saturday after this coming one and I'll probably be too busy to write or post. :(


	15. Crimson

**A/N:** Arrgh, sorry this took me so long. v.v Thank you to **icarus923**, **psychopiratess**, and **ryder77** for reviewing. You managed to send me on the guilt trips necessary for me to work on this whenever I looked at my inbox XD Um. Yeah, I had a bit of trouble with this prompt. Next one shouldn't be so long in coming.

This takes place sometime between Turn 21 and Turn 22. Also, this is really, really short, sorry. ):

* * *

"So — what do you think?"

She tilts her head on one side as he turns to her, flourishing dramatically.

"Ridiculous," she decides dismissively, and returns to her pizza.

He doesn't quite splutter, as he might have done as a child. No, he's far more mature than that now — he frowns a little, breathes out huffily through his nose, and lets the arm drop. Well, fine then. It's not like he really cares about what she thinks of his outfit at all — he just asked her on a whim.

He returns to studying himself in the mirror, straightens his collar. Not bad at all, he thinks to himself. He can't understand why she doesn't like it. She must just be acting contrary.

"If you're done primping yourself in the mirror," comes Suzaku's voice from the doorway, "We have a meeting to attend in ten minutes."

He turns on his heel to follow him out, ignoring CC's smirk. "I wasn't primping," he says, a little snappishly.

Suzaku glances sideways at him. "If you say so, your majesty."

He doesn't sound convincing, but Lelouch lets it slide. After all, today is not the day to worry unduly over his accomplices' opinion of him...

"Though, just so you know, those red bauble things look ridiculous."

"What?" Distracted, Lelouch looks down. Suzaku reaches across and pads vaguely at his chest, not looking at him.

"You know. Those weird... never mind."

"Weird what?" repeats Lelouch, annoyed. "Look, there's nothing wrong with them. And your outfit has them too, so..."

"Only because you designed it," mutters Suzaku.

"You're wearing it, aren't you?"

He can't seem to think of anything to say to that, so they are silent as they turn the corner.

"... well, you've always been a bit eccentric in your fashion sense," Suzaku says at last, lightly enough. Lelouch glares at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he says rather haughtily.

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"Explain."

Suzaku stops. They're in front of the door to the meeting hall, though they're not due to begin for another five minutes. He turns to Lelouch and lowers his voice. "Well, I mean... your Zero outfit."

Lelouch frowns. "What was wrong with it?"

Suzaku looks suddenly uncomfortable. "Ah... well, I mean... it was kind of... flamboyant, don't you think?"

"... flamboyant?"

"With the purple...?"

Lelouch blinks at him. "There's nothing wrong with purple. Purple is an intimidating and royal colour, it makes people look up to whoever's wearing it."

"... with the cape...?"

"What was wrong with that?"

"Well, for one thing it kind of clashed... oh, never mind."

Lelouch stares at him as though he's simple. "Purple and black don't clash, you dolt."

Suzaku looks away, "Sure, sure, but... purple and red..."

"It's a perfectly colour-coded and imposing outfit," snaps Lelouch, "And if I hear one more word out of you, I'm sentencing you to cleaning the toilets for a week."

Suzaku doesn't look as though he's very convinced, but he bows his head deferentially nonetheless. "As you wish, your highness," he says in a normal tone of voice, and with that the topic is closed.


	16. Pain

**A/N: **Thank you **misaoshiru**, **psychopiratess**, **Infidel Pumpkin**, **menteur honnette**, **La Luna Negra**, and **Namiko Shigemoto **for all your reviews. :hearts: I get a little glow of happiness whenever I see one sitting in my inbox. :love:

Anyway, so this one is set during Turn 25, during the execution scene. So an obvious warning for spoilers. Also, finally an answer to what Suzaku's Geass is --- kind of. I structured this one sort of strangely --- if it's too confusing just let me know. I was a bit tired when I wrote it... also, this fic follows the idea that one's Geass comes from their deepest wish.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

* * *

She walked through the streets briskly, purposely. She didn't know where she was going, but so what? She never had. She had to go.

The streets were empty. Everyone was gone, watching the executions out of grim, fascinated horror. Out of hatred, and fear. She wouldn't watch, though — what was the point? She knew what was going to happen, and it was completely different from what was expected by everyone else.

There was a church on the corner, and without thinking about it she ducked inside. It was familiar, somehow — all churches were the same here, she thought. Dark and grim on the interior, carvings of pain and piety, and the stained glass windows bending and fracturing the light into coloured stains on the floor.

--

_They burned her, once. No, not once, many times. Because she didn't die the first time, or the second, and they called her witch for that. A demon. Unholy. Messenger of hell._

_She hadn't understood at first. Hadn't she prayed as well as the rest, with as much gratitude? Hadn't she been good and kind and humble and — ? No, maybe they were right. This was her price for spending her love so freely. This was her payment. To suffer, alone._

_("You're not alone," he'd said. "If you are a witch I will become a warlock." But every man she knew had been a liar, and he was no different.)_

--

She knelt carefully on the carpet before the altar. Yes, this was how you prayed, wasn't it? You could even pray for the souls of dead people, to save them in the afterlife.

And you clasped your hands together, like this, right? And bowed your head, and made yourself humble — hah! Humility. She barely knew the meaning of the word. Such a useless idea. Where did it ever get anyone?

Stupid, stupid. What was the point? All this, all this posturing and planning and fighting and sacrificing. In a few hundred years it would be the same again. Did anyone really believe that atonement counted for anything to anyone but the one doing the atoning?

What was the point of hoping? No one could ever grant her wish. It didn't matter how many times she handed out the Geass, the curse. None of those self-absorbed fools would ever take the Code from her. None of them would ever stay with her. They'd all fade away into the pictures in her head, paintings in hallways, half-remembered and regretted.

Why had she bothered to believe at all?

She bent her head and shut her eyes. It wouldn't help, she knew. Nothing would help. Those stupid, stupid boys...

--

Words, a whispering in his ears, and the warm weight of a body against his. At another time, he could have relaxed, embraced him, held him up or fallen with him, wrapped in his arms.

This time, he stepped back and ripped the sword away, left him to stumble off the edge of the platform. And then he turned and looked at the masses, and didn't comfort Nunnally at all.

And he was crying beneath the mask, but it didn't matter. No one could see his face. No one really cared at all, anyway. Everyone was too busy cheering...

--

She cried, but only a very little. And then, for the first time in over five hundred years, she tried to pray.

_Please, let him be right. Let him succeed._

_Don't let him die for nothing._

--

After, they tried to take the body away, but he stopped them.

"Let it be burned," he commanded, "So that nothing remains of his villainy." His voice came out sounding exactly as it should, like Zero.

And they looked at one another, and at him, and he should have been bracing himself for an argument. But their faces relaxed into smiles and easy laughter, and they turned back to celebrating.

"Alright," they said, "Fair enough."

And he gazed at the crowd with a sickening feeling in his stomach as he realized he had just used his Geass for the first time.

--

She encountered a priest as she left. He was beaming at her. "Don't look so down!" he said. "Haven't you seen? The Demon Emperor is gone! The world is free!"

She looked at him. "And Zero? Zero is back?"

"Yes, Zero is our saviour!"

And she could hear it in the streets. _"Zero! Zero! Zero! Our saviour! Zero!"  
_  
She sighed, picked up her Cheese-kun from the last pew and stepped outside. Such a bright, sunny day.

They all seemed so happy... everyone, smiling and shouting for joy. Celebrating. Like some huge festival was taking place all over the world, right at this moment.

–

_"So... what is your wish, CC?"_

_"Ask Lelouch."_

_"Does he know?"_

_"Ask him."_

_"Just tell me."_

_"What is **your **wish, Suzaku?"_

_"I wished to die."_

_"So did I."_

_"In atonement."_

_"And now?"_

_"I wish people wouldn't fight. I wish they would stop wanting to hurt one another."_

_"Such a bleeding-heart."_

--

She would return, of course, to see how his Geass was working out. She was quite sure there wouldn't be a problem.

And in a hundred years it wouldn't matter anymore because it would all fall back into chaos, but for now?

For now, it would be enough.

* * *

**A/N:** Feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm not entirely sure if CC's character made sense here... ?


	17. Relax

**A/N:** Thank you very much for reviewing, **La Luna Negra**, **lurkmoar**, **Dark Fenrir**, **menteur honnete**, **ryder77**, **psychopiratess**, and **Akitsuki Akira**! So many... it really means a lot to me, that you're all enjoying the story. :) I think I didn't really make Suzaku's Geass very clear at all, so I will attempt to address it again in a later scene... for now, though, I'll say that **psychopiratess** was closest to what I was trying to get across.

This one is set during Turn 21 after prompt #9 (Her). This one's a little more on the romance side than the others have been.

Also, I'm sorry this is so late. v.v

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

* * *

It was Suzaku's turn to put out the fire. As he did so, scooping wet sand onto the ashes to cool them, he became very aware of the cool breeze sweeping in from the ocean. Lelouch had told them, offhandedly, that they would be leaving tomorrow. Suzaku had to admit to being relieved — being a soldier, he was used to often having to spend long stretches of time wearing a sweaty outfit with no chance for a wash, but a solid week in one set of clothing was a bit much even for him. He wondered, vaguely, how much more horrible it had to be for Lelouch, always so obsessed with cleanliness and orderliness.

Shaking his head and shivering just a little, he made his way back to the rock where the others were setting up an approximation of camp. They had no supplies with which to create a tent, but CC tended to use Zero's cloak as a sleeping bag of sorts. Suzaku and Lelouch had settled for just dozing on either the sand or against a rock, neither too close nor too far from one another and CC. This wasn't too much of a bother — the nights had not been very cold.

Tonight, though, as he settled down and tried to find a comfortable position against the stone, Suzaku couldn't keep himself from shivering. The breeze rolling in from the sea was much brisker than before — it was getting close to autumn.

There was a rustle from beside him. In the dim light of the stars, he could see the silhouette of CC as she stood up, discarding the cloak on the sand.

"Where are you going?" came Lelouch's voice from the other side of the rock as she stalked off toward the trees.

"Lady's business," she said vaguely, and disappeared into the bushes.

Suzaku looked after her. Then he glanced down at the cloak, well aware of how cold it was... would she be angry when she got back, if she saw he'd taken it? No, what could he be thinking — he at least had proper clothing. She was only wearing her underwear! But...

Before he could figure out his moral dilemma, a black gloved hand reached down and picked the cape off the ground.

Suzaku blinked as Lelouch shook the sand out. "Won't she get mad?" he asked.

Lelouch looked down at him, shrugged, and, to Suzaku's surprise, sat down to lean his back against the same stone as Suzaku.

"Who cares?" he said, arranging the cloak over him like a blanket.

Suzaku turned away again, shutting his eyes in an attempt to sleep. A few moments later, he was shivering even more than before, and no closer to sleeping.

A hand on his wrist caused him to sit up in alarm. It was only Lelouch, of course, staring at him with an unreadable expression. "Cold?"

"I can handle it," snapped Suzaku, annoyed with himself. He didn't want or need Lelouch's assistance.

An exasperated expression crossed his face. "Alright then." He let go, apparently willing to leave him be — and then all of a sudden, he was crawling over to Suzaku and lying next to him, draping the cloak over them both.

"What are you doing?" asked Suzaku, but he didn't move away. The cloak wasn't very thick, but it protected him a little from the sea breeze. And Lelouch's body emitted some heat...

"Two bodies are better than one, to stay warm," said Lelouch matter-of-factly, leaning his head back against the rock.

"Oi."

And that was CC, of course, returned from her 'business' and none too happy to find her makeshift blanket stolen.

Somewhat to Suzaku's surprise, she didn't throw a fit or even take it away — instead, she crawled under it on Lelouch's other side, settling her Cheese-kun beneath her head as a pillow.

"... three is even better of course," said Lelouch after awhile. Suzaku nodded hazily, half-asleep already. It was very warm now, pleasantly so...

He wasn't sure how much time passed before he felt something weighing against his shoulder, and another something curling around his waist. He opened his eyes to see that Lelouch's head was laid next to his, on his shoulder and... one of his arms was wrapped around him. One of Suzaku's own arms was half-wrapped around him. Were they _cuddling_?

He went rather still, wondering if he should be disturbed. After all, this was Lelouch: Zero, the terrorist who had caused so much destruction, and also Euphie's murderer. Lelouch, the devil he'd entered into some sort of twisted bargain with. Lelouch, who had been his friend once and might be, again.

Lelouch, who he was going to kill some day in the perhaps not so distant future...

Suzaku tried to shift away a little without waking him up, but it was no good. He wouldn't budge. And when Suzaku tried to pull his arm out from around him, Lelouch twitched and suddenly he knew he was awake.

"Stop it," he said quietly.

Suzaku stopped. They were all three of them bathed in moonlight, and as Lelouch looked up at him, face pale and framed by his dark, soft hair, eyes strangely bright and appearing almost silvery... Suzaku thought him quite beautiful.

And strangely sad. Almost... regretful.

For a long moment they stared at one another, and then Lelouch looked away and down again.

"You... at the Kururugi Shrine. Were you lying?"

Suzaku's breath caught. There was a strange tone to Lelouch's voice, one he couldn't remember ever having heard before. A rawness, a vulnerability perhaps... he must have been half-asleep, to speak so honestly.

Suzaku swallowed. "I wasn't," he said, voice rasping. "Kanon followed me. I wasn't trying to sell you out... I meant every word."

Lelouch had leaned his head against the rock again, so that his hair fell over his face and partially obscured his eyes. "Really?" he said.

Suzaku looked away. "Really."

A silence. There was a curious waiting quality to the air, and he was quite sure that CC was not asleep either, that she was in fact awake and listening to everything they said. He wasn't sure if he was bothered by that or not — this was such a personal, private moment between him and Lelouch — but then, hadn't she always been part of this, of everything, from the beginning? She was... their 'accomplice', wasn't she?

Lelouch had raised his head again, hovering near his neck, and Suzaku turned to him once more.

"Suzaku, I'm sorry."

It was so soft it was hardly more than a breath, but even so, even though Suzaku couldn't see his eyes, he knew without a doubt that Lelouch was completely sincere.

"I know," he muttered, shutting his eyes. He opened them again a moment later, to find Lelouch's face very close to his, so close they were almost touching... his body was very warm, and for some reason Suzaku couldn't find it in him to mind their closeness. And it only seemed natural, then, feeling Lelouch's warm breath against his mouth, to close the distance between their lips.

It was just supposed to be a quick kiss, over and done with in an instant, but Lelouch leaned into it, eyes sliding shut, mouth opening to deepen it, and Suzaku found himself following along —

"I'm trying to sleep," came CC's voice from Lelouch's other side, sounding a bit peeved.

Startled, they broke off. Suzaku could feel himself blushing, but Lelouch... Lelouch just smiled, and settled his head back against Suzaku's shoulder.

"Goodnight, witch," he murmured. If she made any reply, Suzaku didn't hear it. And after a moment, he shut his eyes again, deciding he'd wonder about what had just happened in the morning rather than now.

Some time later, when he was just drifting on the edges of sleep, he noticed that his wasn't the only arm wrapped around Lelouch. Hardly aware of what he was doing, he shifted so that his hand just barely touched hers. If he had been awake, he would have been surprised that she didn't pull away.

As it was, the three of them fell asleep all curled together under the moonlight. It was the first time he slept deeply all that week.

* * *

**A/N:** I no longer even know if I'm writing fluff or angst...


	18. Lover

**A/N:** Thank you, **LL**, **psychopiratess**, **SpacePirateGirl**, **menteur honnete** and **ryder77** for reviewing!

Argh, sorry, I was rather busy last week. Anyway. This has a slightly higher rating than the other ones, contains some more sexual stuff.

Set sometime in the later episodes of Season One, not entirely sure if it's before or after Episode 17. But it fits around that timeframe, I'd say.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

* * *

There's a moonbeam shining directly into her face. She's been trying to ignore it, but at last it pulls her from sleep and leaves her blinking and squinting up into it. Annoyed, she shifts and turns over, manoeuvring her body away from the bothersome light.

Hm. Of course, this means she ends up being much closer to Lelouch... well. She can bear it, can't she? Pulling her head up to rest against her crossed arms on the pillow, she regards Lelouch sleepily. She can't remember it properly now, but she's sure she was dreaming before she woke... dreaming, really dreaming, not having a nightmare. That was odd. She rarely dreams, and when she does it's usually unpleasant.

Not this time, though. This one... she frowns, trying to remember, but the images skip away from her mind, until all that is left is the impression of green, and warmth, and sunlight, and... absolute safety.

She stares blankly across the pillow at the back of Lelouch's head. She can't sleep, now. She's — and curse it, damn it, she'd never admit it out loud — she's afraid, ridiculously, foolishly afraid, of returning to the dream and finding it become a nightmare.

Ridiculous. She shuts her eyes lightly, breathing evenly. There's a movement beside her, and she opens them again to see that Lelouch has turned his head in his sleep. Now she can see his face, clearly visible despite the shadows. It's oddly tense, the brows furrowed, eyes moving swiftly beneath the eyelids. And he's sweating, too.

Well. How strange. Is he sick or something? Almost without meaning to, she reaches one hand out to his forehead. Of course, she's not concerned about him or anything. It's just that if he sickens and dies on her, he won't be able to fulfil her contract. And he is ever so entertaining... whatever prompts her to lay her hand gently against his forehead and feel for a fever has nothing to do with worry or care.

He flinches a little at the feel of her palm on his skin, and his mouth opens, letting out a little "ah" of sound, but he doesn't wake. His skin is warm and sweating, but nothing like the temperatures or conditions indicative of a fever. So he can't be sick, then.

Then what...? As she watches, contemplating, he makes another small movement, shifting his legs just slightly. A possibility is beginning to form in the back of her mind.

There's a little droplet of sweat running down his face and she traces it slowly with her fingers, down his temple and then over his cheek and toward his mouth, before she pulls the hand back again. He lets out a shuddering, sighing sound and turns his face toward her.

She makes no movement, watching him carefully with wider eyes than usual. He shifts again, turning his body more fully toward her. A tongue darts out to lick at his lips. Again, "Ah..."

And then, the muscles in his shoulder and neck tightening, he _moans_. Quietly, but a moan nonetheless, and she's a bit surprised at the shiver it sends up her spine.

And of course, it's exactly what she thought. It's a well-known fact that developing young men are prone to dreams of a sexual nature. It should come as no surprise to her that Lelouch, though exceptional in other ways, is all-too-human in this.

She's no blushing virgin. She knows quite a lot about men and their bodies — a lot more than he does, probably. She's never exactly been 'proper' or 'decent,' either. At any other time, she would have rolled over and fallen back asleep with no inhibitions, perfectly fine sharing a bed with a teenage boy in the midst of a wet dream.

But there's the moonbeam on the other side, and he's very close to her now, and she's... curious.

So as he shifts and moans quietly, lost in whatever dream he's having, she watches. His hips move, occasionally, slowly, and his hands grasp at the sheets. He's frowning, still, and it's just so like him to dislike giving himself up to pleasure even in sleep. And his mouth is open, lips moving.

He's saying something, she's sure, so quiet that she has to lean close to hear. It's garbled, but she can still make it out – the word "please".

Well, well, well. So the great Zero dreams of being made to say "please" in his bed. It's a bit amusing, actually. And it's just as she's making a note to tease him about this in the morning, complete with small, pathetic hip gyrations and begging and all, she hears the next word —

"Ah... _Suza - Suzaku_..."

And as she draws back, surprised, he moans again, bucking forward slightly more vigorously — his hips brush against hers, he's so close — expression clearing into one of bliss and —

And it's done, and he's lying next to her, panting a little, still fast asleep.

She wonders if she should move away — he's much closer to her than she's usually comfortable with. And where's her Cheese-kun? On the floor, probably. She should pick it up and set it between them as a barrier...

He looks so very relaxed and peaceful, she notices. Cute, almost.

The moonbeam is still there, ready to torment her the moment she tries to sleep.

_Oh, shut up,_ she thinks to the silent, absent Marianne as she pulls his head to her chest and curls around him. She won't mention this in the morning, she decides, stroking idly at his damp hair.

After all, he doesn't need to be given any more reasons to hesitate.

* * *

**A/N:** I kind of have a cuddling fetish, can you tell?


	19. Without

**A/N:** Thank you so much to **Lord Bear**, **lurkmoar** (enjoy :D), **lilyrose** (there is a challenge community on livejournal in which one signs up to write scenes for fifty designated prompts), **AlsoSprachOdin**, **KarimaTinCan**, **Namiko Shigemoto**, and **SylverEyes** for reviewing. I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to get up - your lovely reviews sent guilt signals to me every time I recieved one. DD: I'm so sorry!

Anyway, this chapter contains **non explicit sex**. I was debating with myself on whether or not I should cut out that part and just put it in my lj, but... it's only just barely pushing toward an M from a T, IMO. So. Just be warned of its presence, if it bothers you.

Set after Turn 25, so obvious **spoilers**.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

* * *

He shouldn't be surprised to see her. After all, she was part of all this, too. She'd want to know that everything went as planned.

And yet it's still somehow a shock when he steps into Zero's lavish new quarters and sees her, facing him from across the room. He thought she'd disappear right away, perhaps, pretend that nothing ever happened between the three of them. After all, she was only ever here for Lelouch, wasn't she?

He enters and quietly shuts the door behind him before making his way across the room, conscious of her gaze on him. There's a couch there, and it's been a long day... appointing Nunnally as Empress, forming the new world order together with Cornelia and Xingke and the others, getting used to his new Geass and employing it as little as possible... organizing and attending Lelouch's cremation...

He sits heavily, the strength going out of his legs. The witch has turned away again, no longer facing him as she stands against the wall. She looks oddly small and vulnerable — she's always been short, her realizes, but it's only now that she actually looks it. She always made herself seem taller with her aloof attitude, but right now, with her shoulders almost hunched over.

"So, it's done?" Her voice is cool, flat, matter-of-fact.

He inclines his head, not quite ready to remove the mask — not even in front of her. "You must have seen. It's all over the news. The world is free."

She inclines her head a bit toward him, but says nothing. "I didn't see you," he added quietly, "At the funeral pyre."

She makes a dismissive sound and doesn't turn around. Something about it makes him look at her suddenly sharply, and wonder...

"Are you crying?" he asks, unable to keep the amazement out of his voice. She does turn at that, pushing off the wall and raising her chin to bring back some of that old aloof and untouchable aura. She's wearing that straight-jacket outfit that he first met her in.

And she isn't crying. In fact, her face is as hard and pale as stone, white quartz — and her eyes are hard, too, gold and glittering.

"Are you?" she asks, and nods her head at him. "Take that mask off."

There is a long, waiting moment, and then he shuts his eyes, reaches up and removes the mask. He shakes his hair out as he sets it on the table, and reaches for the cloth that covers the lower half of his face —

CC gets there first, pulling it down gently and trailing her fingers over his mouth. He sighs heavily. He isn't crying, and the tears from earlier have dried by now, but he knows he must look a mess. His hair is rumpled and sweaty, and his eyes itch — so he leans into her hand, waiting for her to gently stroke his cheek as he saw her do to Lelouch, once or twice.

She lets the hand fall, and he opens his eyes. He's _not_ Lelouch, and neither of them will ever forget it.

She sits beside him on the couch, reaches for the discarded mask. He hasn't washed the blood off, yet — he thought it would be a good symbol, the masked saviour stained with the blood of the demon Emperor. So it's dried, now, dark, rusty and crusted. It obstructed his vision all day.

He wonders if she's going to do something sentimental and touching, like kiss it, or start crying, or say something profound — but she just sits there, staring at it. Contemplatively, he thinks, but he can't be sure because she's shifted her head so the bangs cover her eyes, hide them from view. And after a moment, she sets her hand in the mark, exactly the way Lelouch had, fingers spread just so —

Suzaku glances away, swallowing. No, not Suzaku — Zero.

There is a light _chink_ sound as she sets the mask on the table. "So I guess that's it, then," she says distantly. "And I take it your Geass is working fine?"

"... yes." And then, because she has to be curious, even if she won't show it — "It activates through my voice... and it makes people peaceful. Agreeable with one another."

"Took you long enough to figure out. You should have tested it before."

She's right, of course. But... he couldn't. It didn't feel right. It _still_ doesn't feel right — hadn't that been the whole reason they rejected the Emperor? They didn't want a forced peace, they wanted one that people could choose for themselves... But it is still choice, surely? It just... makes them less violent, less eager to fight... and after a few years to get used to this, hopefully it will hold, even after his Geass disappears...

CC stands. "I'll be on my way, then."

He looks up. "You're leaving?"

"Of course. Do I have any reason to stay? I'll be back in a few years, to hold you to your promise. Don't fret."

He watches her as she walks toward the door, suddenly seized with a strange, clenching sort of panic. He doesn't — he doesn't want her to leave, not so soon. She's... their partner, one of the three, it's not fair that the remaining two will separate now —

"Wait!"

She pauses.

"Where will you go?" He doesn't remember when he stood up.

"It's no concern of yours."

"If something goes wrong," he says, stepping toward her, searching for excuses. "If the Geass is abnormal somehow — "

"It isn't," she says curtly, "And anyway, whatever goes wrong here is no longer of my concern." She makes to leave again, but he reaches out and grabs her arm.

"Is it not?" he says lowly. "And yet, all that has happened is a result of your meddling." He's... angry, he realizes. How dare she just walk away like this, after everything that's happened around her, everything that's happened because of her. "Do you think you can just – go on your way, as if nothing ever happened? Pretend you never had anything to do with any of us? Pretend his blood isn't on your hands, too?"

She jerks at her arm, but he's strong, stronger than Lelouch ever was, and she can't break free. "Let go." Her voice is very quiet. She won't lift her head to look at him.

"You selfish — " he says, and then stops. There's no point in getting angry. What's done is done, and just because he's afraid to have to face the world with both of them gone from his side... He lets his grasp relax and soften a little, travelling up her arm to her shoulder so that he is trying to make her face him. "You can't just forget everything."

He can see her lips curving into a smirk. "I always do."

"Won't you... won't you be lonely, just leaving everything behind?"

At last she meets his gaze, eyes bright in her expressionless face. "Of course. But I am used to loneliness."

"So am I," he tells her, "But it doesn't make me dislike it any less."

They are quiet. Her gaze searches his face, still bright — overbright, perhaps. He doesn't know what she's looking for, or what she finds, but after a moment her bright gaze dims, the eyelids half-lowered. Her own face relaxes a little into something still distant, but almost human.

"Stay," he says, leaning in close to brush his lips against her ear.

She moves smoothly out of his relaxed grasp, but turns again and takes his hand. "Just one night."

* * *

They've slept together before, but never like this. There was always Lelouch there, between or beside them, or sometimes even just watching and making sarcastic comments. Now it is just the two of them, fumbling at one another's clothes, pressing skin to skin.

With Lelouch, there was always something to be said — childish competition, teasing followed by indignant squawks or biting retorts, sometimes giggles or moans.

Without him, they are silent.

Suzaku's lips graze CC's collarbone as his hands stroke lightly at her thighs, her stomach, her breasts, and she arches into his touch, naked and white beneath him, but no sound leaves her lips. And when her own hands reach for him, feeling the hard cords of muscles beneath his skin that Lelouch never had, when she strokes lightly between his legs, he only catches his breath and grits his teeth.

Like this, panting and writhing beneath him in pleasure, she seems human to him. Everything, from the tremble of her hands and the rocking of her hips, the short catch of her breath and the slight blush in her cheeks, makes her human, makes her real to him.

Everything but her eyes, half-open and aloof, ever watchful.

He shuts his own, no longer wanting to see. How can she be so unaffected? Lelouch isn't here to tease and coax her out of her shell. She only ever seems to let herself appear vulnerable around him. But Lelouch will never come back.

He lets out a single, long moan at the end, half pleasure and half grief, and collapses against her. Before, he always took care to make sure she – they – were comfortable before falling asleep, but now he just lies there, waiting for her inevitable command for him to get off.

It never comes.

He can feel her breathing, panting still from exertion. Her hand strokes the small of his back, then rests there. And after a moment, she shifts under him, pulls away, and rolls him carefully off of her and onto his side. She lays her head down next to his, staring intently.

"Good enough?" she says quietly.

There is a scratchy, lumpy feeling in his throat, as though he wants to cry, but his eyes remain dry. He shuts them, shakes his head weakly against the mattress. "I'm sorry."

She's not the kind to accept apologies, say "It's alright, don't worry about it" in order to comfort him. She only sighs raggedly and turns away. He stares at her naked back and her long green tangled hair, until he falls asleep.

* * *

It is sometime before morning, when the sun is just rising. He's awake, but lying silent and thoughtful.

He remembers something, maybe a dream, from the night. He remembers seeing her shoulders beginning to shake and shiver in front of him, remembers hearing a quiet, small, smothered sob. He thinks he wanted to reach for her, and maybe he did, but he doesn't remember anything else. He was half asleep then.

He doesn't want it to be daytime yet. He doesn't want to know that they're both gone.

But it's the new day, and there are things to be done, so he turns over and looks around at his large bed.

There is a little hollow, an imprint, in the pillows and tangled blankets and mattress, to prove she was there. But now he is alone.

* * *

**A/N:** The next prompt will probably be too x-rated to put on . I will post the prompt after it as soon as I can, and in it I will mention where you can find the x-rated one (on my livejournal, but I don't know quite when. Maybe I'll try to post both prompts at the same time...?)

And in case you're worried, no, this hasn't completely degenerated into sex sex sex. It's just these few. And there will be more in the future, but certainly that won't be the only focussed. So there should be something here still for non-porn fans, too :)


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